Criminal Meat Syndicates Pushing Pangolin Towards Extinction

Poachers and animal traffickers are taking advantage of remote ivory trade routes to smuggle pangolin parts to Chinese and Vietnamese buyers.

In the last decade pangolins have become the most illegally trafficked mammals in the world, with over 300 poached every single day. But until now very little was known about the booming trade as it went on under the radar.

The scaly anteaters (now considered endangered) are prized for their meat, a delicacy in China and Vietnam, and their scales, which are used in Asian medicine.

For the first time a Scottish study, conducted by Stirling University, highlights the “worrying” link between the trade and Asian industrial workers on the African continent.

One of 101 pangolins rescued from smuggling that Officer of the Natural Resources Conservation Centre (BBKSDA) Riau received from the Indonesian Naval Army on 25 October 2017 .
One of 101 pangolins rescued from smuggling that Officer of the Natural Resources Conservation Centre (BBKSDA) Riau received from the Indonesian Naval Army on 25 October 2017 .
Barcroft Media via Getty Images
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